TESLA’S JEFF KEITH: STILL HAVING FUN 40 YEARS LATER

TESLA’S JEFF KEITH: STILL HAVING FUN 40 YEARS LATER
By Jason Irwin

With Tesla set to hit SPAC (with Mötley Crüe and Extreme) on July 29, I caught up with frontman Jeff Keith to talk about touring after four decades, classic songs, new music, and why the band’s success comes down to one simple thing: having fun.

RRX’s Jason Irwin: Hi Jeff, so great to be speaking with you. I’ve been a fan for a long time.
Tesla’s Jeff Keith: Awesome, well, thank you!

RRX: I was just on your website, and one of the first things it says is, “If you’re looking for the car, you’ve come to the wrong place.” I know why that’s there. But do people really think the band has something to do with the car company?

JK: These days, kind of. People see the cars everywhere. We named the band after the inventor back in 1986, and I think the car company did too. That’s why you’ve got to go to TeslaTheBand.com.

RRX: That’s where you go for an earful of great rock and roll, then?

JK: Yeah, absolutely!

RRX: What’s it like gearing up to go on tour after all these years?

JK: Forty years later, we’re still going strong and still having fun. That’s what it’s all about. The people are still coming out, and we’re very fortunate.

RRX: Are you seeing younger fans alongside the longtime fans?

JK: We do notice younger people in the audience, and that’s really cool. They’re checking the band out, and sometimes they’re singing all the words. It’s awesome that the songs have resonated for that long.

RRX: What’s something that hasn’t changed since the early days?

JK: Having fun and writing songs from the heart. We still love getting up on stage and making records. Songs can be timeless. You see people reliving moments from their lives when they hear certain songs, and we’re feeding off that energy while they’re feeding off ours.

RRX: What’s something that’s completely different now?

JK: Social media and the internet. Everything goes through phones now. We’re used to the older approach, and I don’t really do a lot of social media, but the rest of the guys stay on top of all that. So, it’s a little bit the same and a little bit different. It’s certainly different coming out as a band now. Again, though … just having fun.

RRX: Well, it sounds like having fun is still the key.

JK: It is. Let your hair down, forget about everything for a couple of hours, enjoy the music, and don’t think about all the crazy things going on in the world.

RRX:  The big tour with Mötley Crüe and Extreme is on deck. Then it looks like not much of a break before Rock in Paradise with Styx and a bunch of other bands. You are busy!
JK: We are, and we are very fortunate and grateful for that.

RRX: Is there a favorite tour memory that stands out?

JK: So many great acts. We did the whole Hysteria tour with Def Leppard. We went out with Poison, Great White … a lot of memories. Going out with Mötley Crüe in 1989 was huge. That’s when we found the club that let us play an acoustic set, which ended up leading to some pretty cool things later on, including our live album.

RRX: You have a new album coming out. Tell me about it.

JK: It’s a covers album paying homage to a lot of the great singers and artists we grew up on. We also wrote an original song called “Never Alone” for it. We just wanted to have fun with it.

RRX: I just watched the video for the Queen classic, “Spread Your Wings.” Your voice still sounds great after all these years. What’s the secret?

JK: These days, I do some vocal warmups and things I never used to do. I don’t really know. As long as the voice is there, and I can sing the songs, the guys tell me we’re going out and playing. I’ve just been very blessed to have a voice that some people tend to like. Mostly, I just sing from the heart.

RRX: Why do you continue putting out new music when a lot of veteran bands don’t?

JK: We love writing songs. It’s fun. Maybe we don’t always have time to make a full album, but we’ve been putting out singles. We still love creating music and performing it live.

RRX: Will fans hear any of the new music on this tour?

JK: On the Mötley Crüe tour, probably not much. We only have so much time, so we’ve got to play the staple songs people know and love. And we absolutely embrace that. Putting together a set list is hard!

RRX: I’ve played in a band too, so I definitely understand that.

JK: Exactly!

RRX: Let’s talk about some classic songs. Does “Modern Day Cowboy” still hold up today? It seems to have a lot of metaphorical significance.

JK: We’re not really a political band, but I think it still holds up. That one went from cowboys with six-shooters, to gangsters in the ‘40s and ‘50s, to politicians with missiles. And it can be interpreted in different ways. Songs take people back to certain times in their lives. That’s the beautiful thing about music. It’s timeless.
RRX: I have a story about “Love Song.” My wife walked down the aisle to the acoustic intro at our wedding. We got married in Saratoga Springs, where you’ll be playing on our third wedding anniversary.

JK: Awesome, man. Glad to hear it – we are honored. Congratulations. Love always finds a way!

RRX: When did you realize how huge “Love Song” had become?

JK: We really didn’t know. One thing we got a kick out of was hearing Casey Kasem introduce it at Number 7 on the countdown and call us “a band of nobodies out of nowhere.” We thought it was great – because we were. 

RRX: People interpret “Love Song” differently. Some hear a love song, some hear a breakup song, and others hear what they want to. What was your intention?

JK: That’s the beautiful thing about songs. You leave the lyrics open so people can apply them to their own lives. To me, it’s a healing song. Things work out. If something ends, something else will come along. But people can take it however they want.

RRX: You don’t mind different interpretations?

JK: Not at all. That’s what the music is for, in my opinion.

RRX: How do you feel about one of your biggest hits being a cover song like “Signs”?

JK: I love it. As I mentioned before, we started playing it acoustically while touring with Mötley Crüe. It was a song I remembered from when I lived in Oklahoma in the early ‘70s. I suggested it, and it was actually hard to track down a physical copy. Eventually, I found it on a 45, we learned it, we started performing it, and people embraced it. Long-haired freaky people man … and we’re still long-haired freaky people!

RRX: Did you have any idea that it would blow up to become such a big hit?

JK: No. You never know what’s going to hit and what’s going to miss. It just connected with people.

RRX: Fans still love “Little Suzi” too.

JK: That’s another one. You can take a cover and put your own stamp on it. People seem to enjoy that.

RRX: I asked fans if they had any questions. One wanted to know if there are plans for a box set or unreleased material.

JK: Brian Wheat or Frank Hannon would know better than I would. I don’t know of anything right now, but I think it would be cool if we did. We are seeing a lot of interest in vinyl these days, too.

RRX: Technology has certainly changed things. Sharing music is a lot easier now than hunting down cassette tapes.

JK: Absolutely. I’m old school, but I understand the new school way. Streaming and downloads can get music out to people quickly. If it helps people hear and enjoy the music, that’s great.

RRX: One last fan question. What was the inspiration behind “Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)”?

JK: Ah. You know what? A lot of people think being in a rock band means you’re a star, and you’ve got no lows, you’ve got it made, and life is perfect. The truth is, we’re people just like everyone else. We have highs and lows. The song is about getting through life with the help of a higher power and realizing we’re all in this thing together. 

RRX: Jeff, thanks so much for taking the time. I’ll be seeing you in Saratoga on July 29.

JK: Sounds good, Jason. I’ll look for you, buddy.